D.B. Root & Company LLC Trims Stock Position in Union Pacific Corporation $UNP

D.B. Root & Company LLC cut its stake in shares of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,014 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Union Pacific were worth $712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in Union Pacific by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 10,881 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Gould Capital LLC raised its stake in Union Pacific by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 12,930 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its stake in Union Pacific by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 59,920 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $14,156,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in Union Pacific by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 26,066 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $6,158,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 264.6% during the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 27,241 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $6,430,000 after buying an additional 19,770 shares in the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Union Pacific stock opened at $225.1270 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $226.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $228.91. The company has a market capitalization of $133.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.05. Union Pacific Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.66 and a fifty-two week high of $258.07.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The railroad operator reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $6.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 41.73% and a net margin of 28.43%.Union Pacific’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Union Pacific Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from Union Pacific’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Union Pacific’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays downgraded Union Pacific from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Union Pacific from $271.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Union Pacific from $260.00 to $257.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Union Pacific in a report on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Union Pacific presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.21.

About Union Pacific

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, renewable biofuel producers, and other agricultural users; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.